Epilogue: The Afterlife
by raisin bean
Summary: Ralph turns thirteen-years-old and makes his choice.


**Epilogue: The Afterlife**

by raisin bean

* * *

The boy with fair hair gazed out the window without seeing, his eyes glazed in the way that suggested he was, temporarily, not a part of the world. With the train's swiftness, the landscape melted into green and brown and other earthly colors. Steam issued from the train, obscuring the sky, distorting its blue.

"Ralph," said the thin man sitting across from the boy, "we're nearly there."

Ralph gave a small nod to indicate he had heard what was said. The man sighed softly. The boy he now accompanied had been with him for several months, yet their relationship had progressed no further than that of courteous acquaintances. The fact that this boy was also his cousin's son only made the situation seem more pitiful. He knew only time could heal the internal wounds Ralph sustained, but still wished he could do more.

Ralph, in turn, understood his uncle's desire to help, yet did not see how he could – how anyone could. The problem lay not with him, he thought, but with every human individual.

Still Ralph said nothing.

-----

"Captain, there seem to be problems down below," a young officer reported. His captain turned to face him, an eyebrow raised. The captain was a swarthy, well-built man whose years at sea were reflected in the lines on his face and in the calluses of his large hands. Age was apparent with gathered wisdom in his deep-set eyes. His voice rumbled.

"Are they serious?"

"No, sir, but we'll have to stop the ship in the meantime."

The captain nodded. "Very well then."

The officer exited. His eyebrows furrowed, the captain strode to his desk to solemnly regard the framed picture sitting there. It depicted himself a few years back with a lovely woman and a small boy. The photo's subjects were all beaming with the kind of cheer he hadn't experienced in a long time.

The captain studied the boy. He found himself wondering what his son might be doing at the moment… Then with a jolt, realized that it was his son's birthday. Saddened because he hadn't remembered till then, his unhappiness only grew when he couldn't remember whether his son would be turning twelve or thirteen.

-----

"You know, Ralph, from this angle, you look a lot like your father."

Ralph stiffened at the comment and looked sharply at his uncle. Not expecting such a harsh reaction, the man was taken aback. Ralph continued to stare at the man, although with less intensity. His uncle was much younger than his father, but he had the air of one who remained constant and unchanged throughout the years. It occurred to Ralph that it was unusual his uncle was still unmarried. Yet it also seemed right; if he imagined a woman with his uncle, all he could achieve was his uncle wearing lipstick and powder. Although comical, the idea was fairly accurate. He had come to see the man across him as a maternal figure, the one to fill the place where Mummy had once been.

His uncle's spectacles glinted in the sunlight, and Ralph remembered why he avoided looking at his uncle. Turning away, Ralph regarded the window once more, a somber expression on his boyish face.

"Come now, Ralph," said his uncle in his mellow tone, "Is that any expression for a birthday?"

Ralph retained his silence, so his uncle carried on. "Well… I know this trip was supposed to be your birthday gift, but I have something else for you, too."

Curious, Ralph watched as his uncle pulled out a cylindrical package from his bag and placed it on the table between them. His uncle looked at him expectantly, so Ralph reached for the package. His fingers pulled at the rough twine that held the paper, and when it all fell away there was a gleaming spyglass. Picking it up, conscious of his fingerprints soiling the glossy surface, Ralph put it experimentally to his eye and saw solid skin, his uncle's face magnified.

"It's useful. I know you don't have glasses, not like me, but it's useful to have around… just in case."

Ralph nodded. Just in case there was a pink island bathed in sunlight. Just in case there were awful boy-savages who swapped good sense for gratification. Just in case there was a boy with ass-mar who wore broken glasses.

Just in case.

-----

The captain paced on the deck, taking slow measured steps. The repairs of the ship's network were taking longer than expected. His rationality assured him that in just a minute, someone would approach with news that everything was fixed, and he could go back to the card game he'd been playing with a few of his crew members. But the possibilities, ranging from likely to near impossible, tormented his imagination. So he paced and worried.

Presently a junior officer began to shout. Alarmed, the captain made his way towards the noise quickly. The man in question was pointing out at sea.

"Captain, there's a Soviet cruiser headed this way!"

Indeed the outline of the ship was visible and steadily becoming clearer. Dread crept upon the captain, but he maintained his composure. "How long till the ship is fixed?" he asked aloud, his question open to anyone who could answer.

"A while, sir."

"What? Why?"

"There are replacements to be made. The process will take some time."

The captain squeezed his hands into fists with frustration. "Why weren't these replacements made at our last stop?"

Nobody could answer him.

-----

The sky was stained varying shades of yellow and orange. The clouds huddled together, still without the wind's breath to move them. The air was crisp and salted, and the familiarity frightened Ralph, smarting his eyes. He blinked the tears away quickly, and if his uncle took notice, he gave no sign of it.

This was the first time Ralph had come out since he'd been delivered to his uncle's doorstep. In the beginning days he'd been completely mute. The only sounds his uncle had ever heard from him had been the muffled sobs through the bedroom door at night. Gradually Ralph had learned to speak again, but remained taciturn and quite deadpan. He had also adamantly refused to leave the house, spending his days sleeping and brooding.

So when the request was made to go to the seaside for Ralph's thirteenth birthday, his uncle was more than a little surprised, but eager to satisfy. The months had been long, he thought, but now Ralph was finally acclimating to his return to society. Perhaps this would be Ralph's time to come to terms with his recent past and move forward.

Ralph's uncle found himself observing his "nephew" thoroughly. Ralph seemed emotional, or at least much more so than he had been at any other time. There was a strain about Ralph, invisible yet perceptible, marking the unrest inside.

"Uncle, I want to go to the beach," Ralph stated suddenly, "…alone."

"Well, all right then. Just don't wander off too far."

He watched Ralph bring along the spyglass and smiled, assuming that Ralph wanted to try it out. He was interested when Ralph shoved a piece of paper and a pen into his pocket as well, but asked no questions because of the intent look in Ralph's eyes. He'd never seen such feeling in the boy's eyes; they were always dull, lacking a child's sparkle.

He smiled and waved as Ralph trotted away.

-----

The cruiser was now unmistakable, sketched in the light of the horizon, for it had advanced several hundred yards in a remarkably short amount of time. The captain marveled and concluded that it was a newer design constructed for speed, just as he fervently hoped that it had only been constructed for speed. Those of the crew who could not help with the repairs were standing around, occasionally casting doleful looks in the direction of the nearing ship.

"Captain!" A man called from somewhere the captain couldn't discern. "We're all fixed!"

"Good! Get the ship moving, men!" The captain bellowed and the men on deck scrambled to their posts, their efforts doubled by the enemy ship's impending arrival. Soon their own ship was un-anchored and making progress on the choppy waters.

Cheers erupted among the men, which evaporated the heaviness that had previously hovered over them. Those cheers died as a booming sound was heard, followed by a whistling noise, distinctive in its way that only one image was brought to mind: missiles.

"Abandon ship!"

The captain seemed to see things in slow motion. Around him, men ran to grab life vests and life rafts. He could see himself being handed one such vest, strapping it on, and diving overboard. Then everything was put back into perspective. The fall was startling, but the transition from air to water was so instantaneous that he had no time to prepare. The air was crushed out of his lungs with great force. He managed to hold his breath at the last moment. With the combination of his kicking legs and his life vest carrying him, he burst through the surface of the water.

There was one… two… three seconds before the missiles met the ship. The resulting explosion blew huge waves out, scattering debris into the water. The shock waves sent only more energy into the waves.

The captain propelled through the water, losing his consciousness in the process.

When the water finally calmed, orange was sprinkled throughout the scintillating blue.

-----

Ralph had continued to run. His breath came out in little gasps and he felt a bit annoyed at how weak he had become. He ran across the fine sand, and somewhere along the way he kicked off his shoes and socks. When he came to a rest, he looked ahead to his destination. There was a rock formation overseeing the ocean, dark and massive. He turned his eyes to the high ledge above the roiling sea. The way up was shadowed with holes; he'd have no problem climbing up.

As he reached the base of the cliff, he tugged off his shirt and left it on the sand. Hoisting himself up, he began his ascent. There were many handholds, but he still dared not go too quickly – it would be troublesome to fall and be forced to repeat the process. However, the light was fading and that spurred him on.

The moon enveloped the night in cold silver. The stars appeared to dilate; so big and bright were they that Ralph felt he could snatch one from the sky. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the pen and paper and spyglass. With what illumination there was to be had, he scribbled a word down. He sat the spyglass down upon the paper to hold it in place.

Now Ralph stood and walked to the edge where rock ended and air began. Below, the sea sighed and rolled against the rocks, reaching. Above, the stars teased him with their illusions and small comforts. He inhaled, not minding the mild sting in his nostrils, and exhaled.

"Ralph," sighed the sea.

"Ralph," called the stars.

Ralph rubbed his arms and a brief smile crossed his lips. There was no fear.

"I know. I'm coming."

There was no one to witness a figure drop from the cliff and into the sea.

-----

Ralph's uncle did not alert the authorities when Ralph still hadn't come back after the sun had disappeared. He couldn't recall specifying a time for Ralph's return – goodness knew children would never do more than what they were told – and the boy had always been edgy around strange adults.

Instead, he followed the direction he'd seen Ralph go. There were still a few footprints left that hadn't been washed out by the tide. He walked a leisurely place, expecting to find Ralph sitting in the water, maybe digging a hole… something child-like. But when he reached Ralph's shoes and socks strewn on the sand, he felt trepidation in the shiver that ran through his body.

His adult legs could travel more distance than Ralph's, and thus he reached the cliff in about half the time. He paused to pick up Ralph's damp castaway shirt. It had obviously been left there for quite some time. Gazing up at the cliff's face, in his mind's eye he could see Ralph climbing up, a pale silhouette on the dark stone. Dropping the shirt, he imitated Ralph's actions and started up the rocks.

Upon arrival at the summit, he surveyed the area and didn't immediately make out anything of interest. Only when he stood at his full height and moved forward did he catch sight of a shiny something. Prickles arose on the back of his neck.

As he knelt down, he reached out a hand to pick up Ralph's spyglass. Then he saw the paper that had been planted beneath it. Holding it up, he saw the one word scrawled upon it: "Thanks." The terrible understanding seeped into him.

"Oh Ralph," he said mournfully, "Today was your birthday – your thirteenth birthday! You had your whole life ahead of you."

He felt his eyes water and automatically wiped at them.

"What am I going to do now?"

-----

The captain had survived the blast for reasons he wasn't entirely sure of. A crewman had swum to his side and flipped him on his back, enabling him to breathe air while he was not awake. When he came to, more than a few crewmen had gathered, a few with minor injuries, but otherwise whole. The sight had gladdened him, for there had been many bodies in the sea that evening.

They had pedaled for more than a day when a man, the same man who'd seen the cruiser first, spotted land. With the salvation of solid ground to hasten them, they made it to shallow water within the next several hours.

Collapsing upon the sand, the lot of them could do little more than pant for air. When their breathing resumed normal rates, they still did not move, all of them contemplating their fortunes.

At long last, the captain sat up. Scanning the view, he looked from one side to another, saw an abundance of trees, rising pink cliffs, boundless sky and sea encompassing. He spoke aloud, almost to himself.

"What are we going to do now?"

* * *

Written for English last year. Edited some before submitted here.

'Tis my first fanfiction, so I'd love feedback.


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